喜樂美語

核心畫面

Picture someone walking in open country with nowhere they have to be. The path bends where it likes, turns at a tree, follows a stream for a while, and comes back on itself. It still goes a long way, but it never goes straight. Hold that line in your mind, because everything else in this word is the same line drawn on something different: on a river or a lane, on a plant spreading over a wall, on years of moving from town to town, and on a person's talk when the point keeps sliding away.

可以想成一個人在郊外走路，沒有非到不可的地方。路想彎就彎，遇到樹就轉，沿著小溪走一段，繞著繞著又回到原處。距離其實不…更多收起可以想成一個人在郊外走路，沒有非到不可的地方。路想彎就彎，遇到樹就轉，沿著小溪走一段，繞著繞著又回到原處。距離其實不短，但它從來不走直線。把這條線記住。ramble 其他的意思，都是同一條線畫在別的東西上：畫在河和小巷上、畫在爬滿牆的植物上、畫在一個一直換城鎮的人生上，也畫在一段抓不到重點的話上。

From the word’s history

Wiktionary derives ramble from Middle English ramen, 'to roam', with the frequentative ending -le, so it is roughly 'to keep roaming'. The bending, unplanned walk is therefore the oldest picture in the word, which is why the other uses read as that same line moved onto rivers, plants and talk.

根據 Wiktionary，ramble 來自中古英語 ramen（遊蕩）加上表示反覆動作的字尾 -le，字面接近「一直遊蕩下去」。所以「彎彎的、沒有計畫的走路」是這個字最早的畫面。其他用法可以看成同一條線被搬到河流、植物和說話上——這是理解上的連結，不是說歷史上依序長出來。

Wiktionary etymology supplied in the evidence packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1048236009)

Three branches

腳在走：漫步與流浪

這一組就是核心畫面本身，差別只在時間長短：一個下午，或是好幾年。

verb · B2

To walk in the countryside for pleasure, going wherever looks good rather than straight to a fixed place. It is common in British English and usually comes with a word like around, through, along or over.

在鄉間漫步、隨意走走

話在走：說話沒有主線

把那條彎路搬到嘴巴上：話也在繞，聽的人跟不上方向。

verb · B2

To talk or write for a long time in a loose, unplanned way, moving from one thing to the next, so that other people find it hard to follow your point.

東拉西扯、漫無重點地講

線條在走：蜿蜒與蔓生

沒有人在走了，但那條不肯走直線的路徑還留在地上、牆上。

verb · C1

If a river, road, path or building rambles, it follows or spreads along a winding, irregular line instead of a straight or planned one.

蜿蜒、不規則地伸展

原始詞典資料9 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

ramblenoun/ˈɹæmbəl/

  • 1

    A leisurely stroll; a recreational walk in the countryside.

    • Marianne was prevailed upon to join her sisters in their usual walk, instead of wandering away by herself. Hitherto she had carefully avoided every companion in her rambles. If her sisters intended to walk on the downs, she directly stole away towards the lanes;[…]
    • The place was a favourite with all, and the ramble in this quarter was quite a regular custom of the afternoon with the fair heiress of Colonel Walton in particular.
  • 2

    A rambling; an instance of someone talking at length without direction.

  • 3

    businessminingA bed of shale over the seam of coal.

  • 4

    A section of woodland suitable for leisurely walking.

    • Someone proposed that we play in one of the small clearings in a gay crusing ^([sic]) area in Central Park called the rambles.

rambleverb/ˈɹæmbəl/

  • 1

    To move about aimlessly, or on a winding course.

    • Weak from drifting on the longest mosey ever rambled. Weeks with no meal or beverage. Blistering desert pounding me to the crosine-tipped ^([sic]) brink of insanity. Yet perhaps there is truth in sand madness.
  • 2

    To walk for pleasure; to amble or saunter.

  • 3

    To lead the life of a vagabond or itinerant; to move about with no fixed place of address.

    • 1994, Richard Thompson, “Beeswing” We was drinking more in those days and tempers reached a pitch And like a fool I let her run with the rambling itch
  • 4

    To talk or write incessantly, unclearly, or incoherently, with many digressions.

    • Francine has a tendency to ramble when it gets to be late in the evening.
    • She often rambles about bees' behavior, both in the hive and in the field.
  • 5

    To follow a winding path or course.

    • The river rambled through the mountains.

資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。